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The ugly sound of a body falling out of a tree and hitting the hard ground, accompanied by a deep groan of pain, interrupted the otherwise calm evening walk of the younger sect members. Yin Yu, who was the center and the leader of the group, had no time to see what had happened before his sect siblings started to mutter and laugh behind their hands, their reactions varying but still showing clear disdain toward the poor youth who had fallen down. The trees around them were ancient and tall, nourished with spiritual energy for thousands of years. A fall that high would have killed a normal man, but the disciples were not concerned.
“It is that brat again”, Jian Yu muttered angrily, his words completely unnecessary because Yin Yu already had figured it out. Only one person could cause a reaction like this when they fell out of a tree in front of their fellow sect members. Yin Yu held back a sigh and quickly prepared himself for meeting his youngest sect brother. His expression was calm, the gentle smile unwavering as he ignored the barely hidden laughs and mocking glances his other sect siblings threw at the youth laying on the ground.
“Yizhen, what is it?” he called, his tone polite with carefully added warmth. Not too much, not too little. He had to be the perfect head disciple standing between Quan Yizhen and others, not giving too much attention but neither refusing to give anything.
“Shi-shixiong!” Quan Yizhen startled and tried to jump up, his eyes unfocused and the balance completely off. Instead of gracefully getting back on his feet, he immediately stumbled back down and flinched when he heard the muffled, mocking laughs. Yin Yu remained nonchalant, looking like he was either not concerned at all or politely ignoring the stumbling to allow the youth to save his face.
“Take a moment to rest. We have visitors and it does no good if they see one of our disciples stumbling around”, Yin Yu told him. He could see that the reactions from the small crowd around them hurt the youth and that he tried very hard to not respond when Yin Yu was right in front of him. Luckily Yin Yu had already learnt how to navigate situations like this without hurting Quan Yizhen too much while still keeping his own reputation among his sect siblings. He turned to look at them, his expression gaining a slight tone of helplessness. “shidis, shimeis… Please, go ahead. I will join you later.”
The group left without hesitation, some of them throwing understanding, nearly pitying glances at Yin Yu. How unfortunate it was that he had to step in only because it was his responsibility to take care of everything as the head disciple, they thought. It was Quan Yizhen’s fault that Yin Yu had to cut the relaxing evening stroll short and focus on such mundane things instead of enjoying the calm moment of leisure. But although they thought that, none of them were willing to stay. Even Jian Yu left, only shrugging once like he did not even know why Yin Yu would bother to stay.
“Yizhen, did you fall down… accidentally?” Yin Yu asked quietly once he couldn’t see or hear others anymore, crouching down and placing his fingers on the pulse point on Quan Yizhen’s wrist. He hesitated when he asked that question, but he still had to know even if the answer wouldn’t be a surprise. Quan Yizhen was not the kind of person who would…
“No. I jumped.”
“Yizhen!”
“I want to grow wings”, Quan Yizhen explained, slightly tilting his head in a confused manner when he looked at Yin Yu and wondered why his elder sect brother suddenly looked so shocked, almost fearful. He did not get it. There was nothing dangerous nearby. “I heard that it will happen faster if I jump down from high places.”
“Oh”, Yin Yu sighed, his heart returning back to its normal rhythm after the sudden shock, “Yizhen, that… That is not true.”
“...Really?”
“Really”, Yin Yu nodded. He did not ask who had told Quan Yizhen things like that. It was better that he did not know, because he would have to punish them if he knew their names. This was fine. He could still control the situation even without taking any sides.
“But…”
“Just… Just continue training and cultivating”, Yin Yu told him, “like I said last time. The wings will grow soon.” Quan Yizhen nodded, but his eyes wandered, landing on the wings behind Yin Yu. Nobody else in their generation had yet grown their wings and that made Yin Yu a focus of both deep admiration and envy among their sect siblings. He had already got used to it and ignored the looks, barely paying attention to compliments and casual words lamenting the speaker’s own, still wingless form. Yin Yu handled that all gracefully, giving only a few words of encouragement and accepting the polite gestures with a nod.
But the way how Quan Yizhen looked at his wings… It was different. Yin Yu couldn’t say how, but something in that gaze was deeper, more meaningful. He had no idea how to answer it, so usually he just looked away and pretended he had not seen anything.
His wings moved. A little movement, barely noticeable. For a moment he had wanted to reach out and tuck Quan Yizhen under his wings just like their elders did for the youngest sect members when they needed comforting. He stopped himself just in time.
He was sure Quan Yizhen still had noticed it, but if he asked Yin Yu would say it has been just a wind touching his feathers. Quan Yizhen would believe it. He always believed whatever Yin Yu told him.
But Quan Yizhen did not ask.
“I need to go back”, Yin Yu said after waiting for a moment, “you should be fine if you just rest here for a moment before getting up.” After saying that he simply got up and walked away, once again pretending that he was completely unaware of the intensive way how Quan Yizhen looked at his wings.
Blood.
He could still smell it.
Still feel it in his hands and face, the thick drops slowly running down his cheeks like tears.
He could close his eyes, but he still saw it. Blood. Blood and the severed wing that he had dropped. He had held on to it… It had been his fault. He shouldn’t… He shouldn’t have done it. He should have known. He should have… Anything else… Done something else! But he panicked and grabbed the nearest part of Quan Yizhen and told him to cut it.
He had not meant it literally. He had only wanted Quan Yizhen to stop and calm down. Just stay still for a moment so he could have removed that armor, but… But Quan Yizhen always took things literally and under Brocade Immortal’s influence he had to do whatever Yin Yu told him to do.
Cut. It.
Yin Yu did not want to remember. He did not want to recall that moment, to see again and again how the blade rose and fell, cutting off the wing he was holding. So neatly and quickly, it all took just a blink of an eye. He did not want to see Quan Yizhen looking at him, the empty looking eyes just watching even when he cut off his own wing.
Yin Yu did not want to remember.
But he had to, because it was his fault.
He was in panic when he was seized and brought to justice. He was not able to say anything, neither to defend himself or to apologise. He had not refused when he was judged and he accepted the punishment without a word. All he could see, smell, and feel was the blood that had been washed away long ago.
He did not even react when his wings were tied. He only sat there, slumped down and unresponsive when the group of deputy officials carried out their task and used thin metal wires to tie his wings. They worked quickly and effectively, not saying a word or showing any thoughts at all. The wires had to be tied tightly around the base of the fragile wingbones, just about a handwidth from his shoulderblades. So tightly that the blood circulation stopped, but not so tightly that the wings would die too soon. That was the final cruelty of his punishment; his wings would be killed in a way that ensured that he wouldn’t be able to save them once he was left to the mortal realm. He would have to choose between cutting them off himself with whatever blade he could find, or watching them rot and eventually fall off.
Yin Yu was barely aware of what was happening around him and he had only a vague idea of how he had been sentenced when his wings were tied. Part of him probably knew what was happening, but he couldn’t react. He let it happen. The deputy official working on his right wing was ruthless, pulling the wire so tight that somebody else snarkily asked him if he really hated this man kneeling in front of them. The other one at his left wing was much less experienced. He was clumsy and dropped the wire several times, clearly nervous about what he was doing even if he hid it well otherwise. Others told him to hurry so he did his best, weakly pulling the wire a few times more before deciding that it should be enough.
Yin Yu’s wings ached first, but once the blood stopped circulating and the nerves died, the pain faded. His right wing became dead weight on his back, but the left one caused him occasional dull pain that sometimes pierced the emptiness in his head and, for a moment, made him feel something.
He was not sure how long they made him wait there in the dark. It did not matter much for him and when they came for him, he only briefly wondered why Quan Yizhen was not there. Was he not allowed to see Yin Yu’s punishment carried out or had he decided that he never wanted to see this horrible sect brother of his ever again? Had he recovered already… Was he fine…
They poked his wings with a long silver needle. Three times each wing on the selected meridians. The right wing was dead and the poking caused no reaction, but when the needle struck the last meridian of the left wing, there was a small flinch. Barely noticeable, but still there. The deputy official holding the needle stopped and frowned, unsure if he had seen anything. He even pulled Yin Yu back, inspecting his empty expression to see if the prisoner knew something he did not.
“Did you finish that?” another one asked impatiently. The martial gods selected to take Yin Yu and Jian Yu down to the mortal realm were waiting and their time was too precious to waste on criminals. They wanted to get the work done and return to their divine and glorious life without another thought given to those doomed to suffer and die.
“Yes”, the deputy official decided, “all done. Let’s go.” He had seen wrong. The metal wires were tied so tightly it was not possible for those wings to still be alive after all these weeks.
Being cast down from the heavenly realm to wander the mortal realm in shame seemed to somehow wake Yin Yu up. His thoughts became clear again although the shame and guilt didn’t leave him. He wasn’t sure what to do, but at least he could think without smelling the blood and his depressive mood wasn’t too overwhelming. He even remembered to eat and sleep sometimes when his body loudly demanded for that.
“Shixiong”, Jian Yu sighed, for once holding himself back from cursing Quan Yizhen’s name. Yin Yu had told him to not do that, but the hatred ran deep and Yin Yu had no way to control the thoughts of others. At least he stopped talking about their younger sect brother once he thought that maybe Yin Yu hated him so much he did not want to hear about him. Jian Yu did not understand that Quan Yizhen’s name brought Yin Yi guilt and fear, no hate and rage.
“What is it?”
“Can I remove those?” Jian Yu asked, gesturing toward Yin Yu’s wings that were still tied by the metal wires. He had already removed his own ties days ago, revealing the blackened bits that grew rapidly as the flesh rotted. Yin Yu had seen him looking for anything sharp enough, but he had not had luck yet.
“...I guess”, Yin Yu replied, indifferent about the fate of his wings. Jian Yu nodded and moved to sit behind him, carefully removing the metal wire that had dug so deep it had become part of the skin and bones. Yin Yu did not need to look. He had already smelled the rotting flesh and knew there was nothing he could do.
“This…”, Jian Yu sounded hesitant and surprised, “shixiong, your left wing moved!” Yin Yu was quiet and sat still. He did not react at all, neither for surprise, disbelief or anger. He was indifferent, completely neutral of these things that had once been his greatest pride.
The silence lasted too long, turning heavy and oppressive before Yin Yu finally replied, “you must have seen wrong.”
Yin Yu never learnt what Jian Yu did to his own dead wings. One day he said he would be away for a moment. Just a moment to fetch some things and find things to eat. He left with the dead wings hanging from his shoulders and returned without either wings or the promised food. Yin Yu did not say anything. He only glanced at the short stumps once and nodded, accepting his younger sect brother’s decision. There was no need to talk about it.
His own wings… He let them be. The smell was horrible and the awareness of having part of his own body dying and rotting while he was still alive was even more horrifying, but somehow he got used to both. He simply stopped caring, thinking that it did not matter. Nothing mattered. He would be completely dead soon anyway so he might as well witness first hand what would soon happen to all of him.
He almost died from it.
The rotten flesh poisoned his still healthy body, making him sick and feverish. He lost his sense of time and place, wandering aimlessly and waiting for death. At some point he thought he saw all those who he had left, each of them ignoring his pain and calling him traitor, liar, murderer…
He promised them he would soon die and give them peace, but that was just another lie because he did not die. Jian Yu managed to find a doctor who saved his life, but Yin Yu had no idea how that happened and how much it cost them. He woke up in a small hut, the dead wing removed and the other one as healthy as it could be with only the scars left by the metal wires showing what had happened.
Just one wing… Maybe that was the real justice. After all, Quan Yizhen had lost a wing too. This way Yin Yu would never forget what he had done.
“One-winged god.”
“...I am sorry?” Yin Yu knew it was useless to pretend that he had not heard anything, so he kept his expression politely indifferent when he looked up at the ghost king.
“That is what they are calling him now”, Hua Cheng said nonchalantly, throwing in such significant information like it really did not matter at all. Yin Yu nodded and looked down, thinking carefully how he should react. He had only recently taken his full role as Waning Moon Officer after he had recovered and he knew that Hua Cheng was still testing him. Mentioning… Him. Mentioning him was just another test, although Yin Yu was not sure what Hua Cheng thought he could gain from it.
Yin Yu turned his attention back to his work, assuming that he had reacted correctly because Hua Cheng did not continue on the topic. Or so he thought. Because he was holding his head down and focused on writing, he couldn’t see the ghost’s amused smile and was completely unprepared when Hua Cheng suddenly spoke again. “He is looking for you. Very actively. Even frantically, I would say. Asking around and demanding answers if he even slightly believes that others know something they do not want to tell him. He even had this drawing with him.”
A piece of paper, decently sized and worn out like it had been folded hundreds of times, landed on the top of the bookkeeping Yin Yu was working on. He didn’t really want to look but it was impossible to avoid something so that was suddenly thrown right in front of him without any prior warning.
It was him, drawn on the paper by skillful hand and great attention to the details. It was also not him, because he did not look like that anymore. The gentle smile, the confidence, the straightened back and stable hand holding the sword, the wings that were drawn stretched out behind him to show all delicate patterns… All that was gone. This was the version that would never return. Yin Yu briefly wondered who had made that drawing. The details so fine and correct should have been impossible to achieve unless the artist had witnessed everything firsthand, but the only person who had known Yin Yu so long ago and still was alive, was Quan Yizhen. Yin Yu couldn’t believe that Quan Yizhen could have skills and patience demanded for a work like this. He probably had threatened some poor artist to make the drawing again and again until it matched the description perfectly, only to create a picture that showed lies.
What a waste of time and skills.
“I thought he could move on”, Yin Yu said, forcing his voice to stay calm, “I see now that I was wrong.” To be honest, he had not thought exactly like that. It was true that he had calculated that Quan Yizhen would eventually let him be, but he never thought that it would take this short time. He knew how stubborn his younger sect brother was.
Hua Cheng watched him, thinking something before he spoke, “what do you want me to do?”
“Pardon?”
“You owe your life to me”, Hua Cheng said, “and I can’t have some silly god running around looking for you and potentially ruining the missions you need to carry out. So, what do you want me to do to solve this problem?”
That was not something Yin Yu had expected to hear, although it did make sense. The ghost kind naturally wanted to fully utilize the tools he had and having Quan Yizhen searching for Yin Yu could cause severe problems. However, Yin Yu was not sure how to solve this problem. He was not even sure if he wanted to have it solved. He would have preferred to just forget and move on, even if he knew it was impossible.
“I could distract him for a while with something else”, Hua Cheng said, noticing his new subordinate’s timid hesitation, “or fabricate your death so he would have no reason to search for you. I could make him lose his memories or sanity, whichever you prefer, or maybe it would be for the best that we end this for real…”
“No”, Yin Yu shook his head, his answer coming a bit too quickly and ruining the indifferent attitude he had been aiming for, “no… It is unnecessary.”
“How so?”
“Shi…”, he paused and corrected himself, “General Qi Ying is stubborn and therefore he will not stop before he sees my corpse. Messing up with him will only direct Heaven’s attention to us and take too much time and effort. Most importantly…”, Yin Yu sighed inwardly, “it does not matter. This drawing proves that he has no idea what I have become. Even if we were to meet face to face, he wouldn’t be able to recognize me. Therefore, there is no need to waste time and effort that could be used for something that is truly important.”
“Hm”, Hua Cheng hummed, tapping his finger against the chair’s armrest as he thought about Yin Yu’s words. Yin Yu, who right then realised that he might have gone too far, waited nervously for the ghost king’s reaction. Being tested by Hua Cheng was stressful, especially because Yin Yu was unable to figure out what he was being tested for. This time, however, it seemed like he had passed. “So you think we shall let him be and allow him to do whatever he wants?”
“Yes”, Yin Yu nodded, knowing that he should not back away now that he had already spoken his mind.
“Very well”, Hua Cheng said after a moment and moved on to the next topic, allowing Yin Yu to relax and think something else than if he had or had not passed on whatever testing the ghost had done right then, “have you used that potion I gave you?”
“I have. It seems to have had an effect on my wing, but the itching…” Yin Yu replied and moved on to report his findings. Hua Cheng had been honest with him and Yin Yu knew exactly why he had become the ghost king’s subordinate. Hua Cheng had a beloved who was a fallen god, just like Yin Yu. That made Yin Yu a perfect example for Hua Cheng to learn how he could help his beloved best when the long-awaited day came and they would meet again.
Yin Yu did not mind being used like that. At least he was useful.
“I am sorry”, Yin Yu said, his voice plank because of the shock he was still trying to sort out, “what did you say?”
“I want… I want shi-shixiong to…”, Quan Yizhen mumbled, sounding noticeably less certain now that the moment of whim had passed. Yin Yu stared at him, unsure what he should feel. Part of him was still terrified, but that part seemed to be losing the fight against the many other emotions. He was sad, but not the way one would be when they were hurt or feeling down. His sadness was more similar to sorrow, a deep feeling of something he had refused to feel and locked down somewhere deep inside him. Then there was also a part that realised that Quan Yizhen had saved him. That if he had not acted, Yin Yu wouldn’t have survived the encounter with the heavenly emperor. Not that he had actually survived, but he still existed and his soul had not been ripped into pieces.
Actually, he was really confused.
And only partly because of what that martial god in front of him had just told him.
“You are supposed to hate me”, Yin Yu told him. Quan Yizhen blinked a few times and tilted his head slightly.
Great, now they were both confused.
“...Why?” Quan Yizhen asked and frowned, “really?” Yin Yu nodded slightly, his gaze moving past Quan Yizhen’s shoulder. His wings had always been eye-catching, because of their strong build and Quan Yizhen’s habit to not fold them up properly so it looked like he was always ready to poke somebody or something with them. Now he only had one wing left and Yin Yu belatedly realised this was the first time he saw him like this. He couldn’t really count the initial moment Quan Yizhen had lost his left wing because the shock had made the memories unclear.
“I hurt you.”
“But I don’t mind”, Quan Yizhen said, “shixiong did not mean it.”
“It doesn’t matter if I meant it or not, I still hurt you.”
“I think it matters”, Quan Yizhen argued, “because if shixiong did not want to do it. It was an accident. Accidents can happen to anybody, right?” Yin Yu sighed, lamenting his luck. Of course Quan Yizhen would right now gain insight and decided to use it against him… Or for him? Wasn’t it Quan Yizhen who tried to excuse Yin Yu’s actions while Yin Yu himself held tightly on his guilt and refused to let go?
“It is still my fault you lost one of your wings”, he said, “that is unforgivable.”
“But I have forgiven”, Quan Yizhen said and frowned, hesitating a moment before he continued, “...that would mean that shixiong is mistaken…” He muttered to himself for a moment, clearly experiencing a dilemma of the highest grade, but eventually he managed to figure out whatever he had been thinking about. “Shixiong also has only one wing left.”
“That does not…”, Yin Yu said, but whatever insight the martial god had gained, it had been strong enough to give him several ideas. Maybe he would have reached even a new enlightenment if he was not too busy conversing with Yin Yu right then.
“It does!” Quan Yizhen said, “because I have one wing and shixiong has one wing! That makes one complete pair of wings. We can share!” He looked at Yin Yu’s wing, the once familiar intensity returning to his gaze. Unlike long ago when they had still been mortals, Yin Yu now knew better what a gaze like that meant. He shivered, wondering why he had not noticed it earlier and ignoring the nagging voice in his mind that told him that he only had noticed it now because of the shocking question Quan Yizhen had asked him just a moment ago.
Speaking of that question…
“And if we share wings, then we should live together and…”, the god paused for a moment, blushing and suddenly looking even a little shy although Yin Yu had firmly believed he wasn’t familiar with that kind of emotions, “then shixiong can marry me?”
“Yizhen”, Yin Yu sighed, “you can’t marry me.”
“But we match!” Quan Yizhen claimed, raising his wing to show that he had a point. Yin Yu did not look at all like he had been convinced, so Quan Yizhen slowly lowered his wing again and looked heartbroken. “...Shixiong does not want to?”
“Yizhen. It is not about if I want or not”, Yin Yu said, wondering quietly why he wasn’t just agreeing. Quan Yizhen could be reasoned with and if he just said that the marriage was off the table because he had no feelings toward him, the issue would be solved right away. But apparently some strange part of him had decided to not do that, and honestly that did confuse Yin Yu quite a lot and he knew that he would have a lot of self-discovering to do later when he had time. “It is just… Improper.”
“Why?”
“...Because you should hate me.”
“We already talked about that”, Quan Yizhen said, “what else?”
“I…”, Yin Yu knew there should be more reasons, but they just refused to come to him. He tried for a moment, slowly realising that if they kept this conversation going he might just end up married because for some reason he couldn’t find any arguments against the idea. There has to be something… How did people usually avoid marrying other people they randomly met and did not hate immediately?
“...We are both men.”
“I have seen men marrying before”, Quan Yizhen claimed, “I checked!”
“Marrying is expensive.”
“I have a lot of gold.”
“We live in different realms.”
“I don’t mind. I can move in with shixiong”, Quan Yizhen said and then paused, looking like he had got a great idea that he found very tempting, “...I could marry into shixiong’s family…”
“...I don’t have a family.”
“Shixiong has me!” Quan Yizhen quickly countered.
“I… I will not be able to respond to the proposal in the proper way”, Yin Yu said, “...I only have a left wing. The… The sect’s tradition says I would have to give you a feather from my right wing.” He was actually lying. There was no such a tradition. He was making it up right there and then because he was panicking and thought that Quan Yizhen shouldn’t question whatever Yin Yu told him since he still insisted on calling him elder sect brother. That meant he had to respect even the plain lies.
Quan Yizhen of course looked surprised, because he had never heard about any traditions like this, but he was ready to trust Yin Yu’s words blindly no matter what. So instead of calling him out for the lies, he tilted his head, thought for a moment and then pointed at Yin Yu’s wing. “But that is on the right side.”
“...No, it is on my left side, so it is my left wing”, Yin Yu explained.
“But it is on the right if I look from here…”
“Well”, Yin Yu sighed, “by that logic, then you can’t give me the correct feather since from my point of view you only have a left wing.”
“No”, Quan Yizhen immediately declined that statement, “I have a right wing. It is on my right side.”
“How could we both have a right wing?” Yin Yu asked, slowly realising that he was at a risk to lose this argument too.
“From my point of view we have”, Quan Yizhen nodded.
“But then from my point of view we both have left wings”, Yin Yu said, “that means neither of us can give the other a feather.”
“Yes, but we can agree to use my point of view and then it will be fine”, Quan Yizhen said, proud of this sound logic of his that had solved the problem, “shixiong… please?”
Yin Yu was quiet for a moment, looking at that hopeful man who seemed to be ready to do anything to get what he wanted. Yin Yu knew he should just say what he had thought earlier. That he did not love Quan Yizhen and would never love.
But it seemed like those words just refused to even touch his lips. He was not sure why.
“...There should be courting first”, he finally said, immediately realising his mistake when he saw how Quan Yizhen’s eyes seemed to light up and he smiled joyfully.
“I can court shixiong!” he declared, “I can…! Uh… I am not sure how, but I will!” Yin Yu shook his head, admitting his defeat in front of Quan Yizhen’s enthusiasm. Well. At least he would have time to come up with something while Quan Yizhen figured out the courting part. Surely it would take long enough for Yin Yu to find a good reason to decline the marriage offer? He was only failing now because he had been taken by surprise and the shock hindered his thoughts. Once he was back home and could think clearly, he would come up with something. He was sure of that, so there was no reason to worry more about this issue right now.
“Shixiong?”
“Hm?”
“Can I sit next to you?” Quan Yizhen asked tentatively, throwing soft glances at Yin Yu’s wing while his own was shaking slightly like he was forcing it to stay down. Yin Yu looked up and nodded. Why not? He had already proposed and was going to court him so sitting next to each other couldn’t be any worse.
Yin Yu was wrong.
Because Quan Yizhen was not satisfied by just sitting. Once he got permission, he pushed himself against Yin Yu, ducking under his wing and raising his own to cover Yin Yu from the other side. It was too close, too intimidating… Too familiar…
…Too comforting.
The sound of firecrackers and wild laughter carried in from the street to the quiet courtyard. It was too early to start the festivities and the auspicious hour had not arrived yet, but a wedding this big had gained a lot of attention and the guests, both invited and those trying to sneak in, couldn’t stop themselves from celebrating a bit more. It was not a problem. There would be enough entertainment and food to last for weeks anyway so starting a few hours earlier did not hurt.
The courtyard had been cleaned and decorated, the festive red covering everything. The staff tasked to take care of that had been enthusiastic and skillful, bringing the old place to new shine without destroying the comforting familiarity that helped the man sitting at the top of the stairs leading to the main doors to feel calm. He was wearing red and sat carefully in a meditating position, clearly doing his best to not ruin the expensive, embroidered cloth. He was even wearing jewelry, his hair held up with a jade crown and the silver and jade ornaments hanging from his wrist, neck and the only wing he had left.
He seemed to be deep in meditation, but still opened his eyes when he heard footsteps coming closer.
“Well”, the newcomer said, looking at the man dressed in red, “I thought you were supposed to find a reason to decline the marriage offer. Did I perhaps understand wrong?”
“Chengzhu”, the man in wedding robes said calmly, “please, do not make fun of me on my wedding day.”
“Alright”, Hua Cheng agreed with clear amusement, “let’s say I did understand wrong.”
“...Thank you.”
“Are you ready?” the ghost asked, “that silly god of yours is starting to get impatient. His highness and those others are doing their best, but they might not be able to hold him back for long.”
Yin Yu had not reached the perfect calmness that could help him to maintain a nearly emotionless state, but that had not been something he tried to achieve right now. He only wanted a bit of peace for his chaotic, nervous thoughts.
“I am ready”, he said and got up. Although usually the couple would have arrived at the ceremony either on horseback or in a sedan, Yin Yu had decided to walk. It helped him to calm down and he thought it was more fitting to their background to act as humble as possible.
However, the stroll was cut short when a man fell out of a tree right in front of him.
“Yizhen!” Yin Yu called and kneeled down to see if the man was unhurt, “what… You are supposed to be waiting for me!”
“I was waiting!” Quan Yizhen said, flapping his wing for a moment to get all the feathers and ornaments back in decent shape. Some of them fell right off but he seemed to not mind.
“In a tree?”
“Yes!” Quan Yizhen nodded, “I thought I would fly and…”
“You can’t fly. You only have one wing left”. Yin Yu’s tone was lightly scolding, but his wing was already wrapped around the man.
“Oh… True. But…”, Yizhen leaned in, nuzzling against the soft feathers and looking at him with big, innocent eyes, “shixiong, can we run away?”
“...Wasn’t it you who wanted to marry?” Yin Yu asked, but his heart was already giving up the fight in front of that look, “running away… What are you thinking?”
“There are so many people there”, Quan Yizhen said and gently tugged Yin Yu’s sleeve, “I only want shixiong…” Yin Yu hesitated. They should be married soon and the party has already started. Running away now would cause a lot to talk about.
But…
He glanced at Hua Cheng, who was politely looking at the flowers, only a smirk on his lips showing that he was paying any attention to the couple. He noticed Yin Yu’s gaze and nodded slightly. “What beautiful flowers. I feel like I am fully captivated and wouldn’t notice if something strange happened right now.”
Yin Yu nodded and quickly pulled Quan Yizhen up, “let’s go.”
Hua Cheng was left alone, watching flowers and waiting. He did not need to wait long because soon he heard the tree leaves rustle above him and a familiar figure gracefully landed next to him. He reached out his hand, instinctively seeking for physical contact with his beloved. “Gege, it seems like the wedding couple has escaped.”
“It really does seem so”, Xie Lian replied, “but that’s fine. Half of the guests knew this would happen and the other half doesn’t care so long there is plenty of food available.”
“Wonderful”, Hua Cheng nodded, “would gege like to join this humble man in being captivated by the flowers’ beauty?”
“Why not?” Xie Lian laughed.